Defining palliative care in cystic fibrosis: A Delphi study.

Background: The goal of palliative care is to improve quality of life for people with serious illness. We aimed to create a cystic fibrosis (CF)-specific definition of palliative care.
Methods: A working group of 36 CF care providers, researchers, palliative care providers, quality improvement experts, individuals with CF, and CF caregivers completed a series of questionnaires to rate the value of each of 22 attributes of palliative care, rank top attributes to construct definitions of palliative care, and then rate proposed definitions.
Results: An average of 28 participants completed each of four questionnaires, with consistent distribution of stakeholder roles across questionnaires. Many identified overlaps in routine CF care and palliative care and highlighted the importance of a definition that feels relevant across the lifespan.
Conclusion: Modified Delphi methodology was used to define palliative care in CF. The definition will be used as the foundation for development of CF-specific palliative care guidelines.
(Copyright © 2017 European Cystic Fibrosis Society. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)